Search Results for "أَشْهُرٌ"

2:190; 9:36.

3:98; 22:28.

Important Words:

رفث (foul talk) means, foul, immodest or lewd talk or speech in relation to women. It also signifies acts leading to and including coition (Mufradat & Lane). See also 2:188.

فسوق (transgression) is the same as فسق for which see note on 2:27.

جدال (quarrelling) is derived from جدل. They say جدل الحبل i.e. he twisted the rope. جدل الرجل means, his dispute or quarrel became intensified. جادله means, he disputed or quarrelled with him. Thus جدال means, dispute or quarrel, or the use of strong and hot words (Aqrab).

تزودوا (furnish yourselves) and الزاد (provision) are both derived from زاد with واو as the central root letter. They say زادالرجلi.e. the man prepared a provision for himself for a journey, etc. تزود means, he took for himself a provision. تزودمن الامیرکتابا الی عامله means, he took from the caliph a letter of introduction to his governor so that the latter might afford him his assistance as and when required. الزاد means, any provision, etc. taken when proceeding on a journey (Aqrab). The word is used of extra store meant for future use (Mufradat).

Commentary:

The clause the months of the Hajj are well known is intended to hint that, in the matter of the time of Pilgrimage, the Quran gives no new commandment. The established custom is the right one, being rightly retained by the Arabs from the days of Abraham and Ishmael. The three lunar months during which one may formally undertake the Pilgrimage and enter into the state of Ihram are Shawwal, Dhul-Qa‘dah and the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah (Bukhari).

The clause, there is to be no foul talk, nor any transgression nor any quarrelling during the Pilgrimage, does not mean that such acts are permissible at other times but that these are necessary conditions for the completion of Pilgrimage, which would be like a soulless body if one indulged in such things while undertaking it. Another purpose underlying these injunctions is that a person should abstain from them particularly during the period of Pilgrimage so that it might become easy for him to shun these things at other times as well. The three vices selected are typical of what should be scrupulously avoided in a religious gathering like that at the Pilgrimage. رفث (rafath) stands for all foul, immodest and lewd talk as well as acts relating to sex. فسوق (fusuq) stands for transgression against the laws of God and disobedience of lawful authority, whether spiritual or temporal. And جدال (jidal) stands for disputes and quarrels with co-travellers, companions and neighbours.

The clause, And furnish yourselves with necessary provisions, does not only refer to the preparation which one makes for an ordinary journey which is necessary in its own way, but also to the preparation which one has to make for a spiritual journey. In this sense the clause would signify "provide yourselves with piety and righteousness;" and in order to emphasize the latter kind of provision, the Quran fittingly adds, and surely the best provision is righteousness. But ordinary provision is also necessary; for, if a man does not take necessary provisions with him, he will be certainly put to great inconvenience and hardship on the way and will have to beg of others for help and both these things are detrimental to the noble object underlying Pilgrimage.

Important Words:

یؤلون (vow) is derived from the root لاآ meaning, he fell short; or he fell short of doing what he ought to have done; or he was remiss. آلی means, he swore. آلیت علی الشیء means, I swore to do the thing. آلیت لا افعل کذا means, I swore that I would not do such a thing. آلی من زوجه شھرا means, he swore he would not go near his wife (i.e. not go in unto her) for a month. ائتلی also gives the same meaning as آلی i.e. he swore, as in 24:23. ایلاء means, an oath or the act of swearing; and technically it means, a vow taken by a husband not to go near his wife (Aqrab & Lane).

تربص (waiting) is derived from ربص. They say ربص به i.e. he waited for a good or an evil to befall him. تربص means, he waited or he awaited, or he tarried waiting. تربص عن الامر means, he remained waiting and did not do the thing, i.e. he abstained from doing it (Aqrab).

Commentary:

After the two introductory and intervening verses in which the subject of taking oaths has been dealt with, the Quran now reverts to the original subject of conjugal relations. The verse under comment speaks of those men who vow abstinence from their wives without actually divorcing them. It is, in this connection, interesting to note that while approaching the subject of divorce, dealt with in the succeeding verses, the Quran first speaks of menstruation (2:223) which is a sort of temporary and partial, though unreal, separation. Then (as in the present verse) it speaks of real though indefinite separation. And then, as in the succeeding verses, it speaks of real though revocable divorce. And finally (2:231) it speaks of irrevocable divorce. A really wonderful order designed to put as many obstacles as possible in the way of divorce which Islam recognizes and retains as a sort of necessary evil.

As clearly stated in the verse under comment, Islam allows four months at the most to a person who swears not to approach his wife. During this period, he must either get reconciled to his wife and restore conjugal relations, or separation will be effected between the two. Islam would in no case permit indefinite separation without divorce, leaving the woman "suspended" as it were.

The words if they go back from the vow, surely Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful indicate that swearing abstinence from one’s wife is reprehensible in the sight of God Who loves to see reconciliation between husband and wife. The verse thus abolishes the custom of ایلاءwhich was prevalent among the Arabs before the advent of Islam and by which it was sought to deprive women of their conjugal rights for long and indefinite periods.

2:241.

2:229.

Important Words:

یتوفون (who die) is derived from توفی which is derived from وفی (wafa). They say وفی بالعھد i.e. he fulfilled his promise; he was faithful in his word. وفی فلانا حقه (waffa) means, he gave him his right in full. اوفی gives both the meanings ascribed to وفی and وفی(waffa) above. توفی means, he took something in full, as they say توفی حقه i.e. he got or obtained his right in full. توفی الله زیداmeans, God took away the soul of Zaid, leaving the body behind; God caused Zaid to die. توفی فلان means, his soul was taken away, i.e. he died. In this case God is متوفی (mutawaffi) and the man who dies is متوفی (mutawaffa). الوفاة means, death (Aqrab). The Quran says: الله یتوفی الانفس حین موتھاوالتی لم تمت فی منامھا i.e. God takes away the souls of men at the time of their death; and He also takes away the souls of men that have not died, during their sleep (39:43). The Arabic idiom, which has the support of the Quranic usage, definitely shows that wherever God is فاعل (i.e. subject) and a being having a soul is مفعول به(i.e. object) the word توفی invariably means, the taking away of the soul.

Commentary:

After having dealt with the question of the remarriage of divorced women, the Quran in this verse proceeds to issue commandments regarding widows. The عدة i.e. the period of waiting in the case of widows, is four months and ten days which roughly corresponds to four alternate periods of menstruation and purity combined. Islam has prescribed a longer period in the case of a widow as a mark of respect for her feelings at the death of her husband and has thus added to the dignity and sanctity of the marriage tie.

This verse also implies a rebuke to those who are opposed to widow remarriage, thinking it to be an insult to the family and a disgrace to the widowed woman. The words, what is fair, show that it is not only lawful, but preferable and desirable, for a widow to remarry. The words, in anything that they do with regard to themselves, obviously refer to remarriage. Elsewhere the Quran says, And marry your widows (24:33).

6:135; 11:21.

Commentary:

This verse particularly refers to the fulfilment of the prophecy contained in 54:2. Disbelievers are told to travel throughout the length and breadth of Arabia for four months, (the period ordinarily required in the Prophet’s time for such travel), and see whether there has remained any vestige of infidel rule and dominion in any part of the country. The infidels of Arabia opposed and persecuted the Prophet and his followers and spared no pains to crush and extirpate Islam. But Almighty God promised help to His Messenger with the result that the cause of Islam triumphed and all opposition was swept away.

7:157; 9:11.

Commentary:

The term الاشھر الحرم is generally applied to the four sacred months of Shawwal, Dhul-Qa‘dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Rajab, the first three being the months of the Greater Pilgrimage, while in the last the Arabs generally performed the Lesser Pilgrimage or ‘Umrah (see notes on 2:195 and 2:218). In this verse, however, the words الاشھر الحرم signify not the "sacred months", but "forbidden months" and refer to the four months mentioned in 9:2 above. These were meant to grant a respite to idolaters to travel through the land in safety and see whether Islam had not triumphed and whether the Word of God had not proved true. At the end of this period, during which all hostilities were to be suspended, war was to be resumed against the idolatrous Arabs with the exception, of course, of such as had entered into a treaty with Muslims, and the treacherous and faithless idolaters already at war with Muslims were to be captured and killed wherever found. It should, however, be remembered that the command to wage war after the expiry of the four forbidden months did not apply to all idolaters without discrimination, but was directed only against such avowed enemies of Islam as had themselves started hostilities against Islam and had broken their plighted word and plotted to expel the Holy Prophet from the city. The reason for this ultimatum is given in the following few verses, viz. 9:8-13. As for those idolaters who had been guilty of faithlessness and treachery, they were to be protected (see 9:4, 7). It is highly regrettable, however, that, divorcing this commandment from its context, some critics have made this verse the basis for an attack against Islam, alleging that it inculcates the destruction of all non-Muslims. The Quran and history belie this baseless allegation.

The words, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush, mean that a strict watch should be kept over the movements of the enemy that he may not be able to create mischief and carry on malicious propaganda against Muslims. The very words of the verse point to the existence of a great danger. These times were indeed very hard for Muslims. On the one hand, the Eastern Roman Empire was preparing to attack them and, on the other, the internal enemies of Islam were hatching plots to bring about its downfall.

The words, But if they repent..., show that even those enemies of Islam at whose hands Muslims had suffered such grievous losses were to be forgiven, if they repented and accepted Islam of their own free will. That no compulsion was to be used is clear from the very next verse, as also from the fundamental injunction laid down in 2:257. The truth is that there was a large number of men among the idolaters who, in their heart of hearts, believed in the truth of Islam, but who, either through pride or for fear of others or for other reasons, refrained from making an open confession of faith. This verse was intended to convey to such people that if anyone of them declared his faith in Islam even during the war, his confession would not be taken as hypocritical or as made to save his skin. A conclusive proof of the fact, that there were many among idolaters who were at heart inclined to Islam but were afraid to declare their faith openly owing to fear of persecution, is that whenever war ceased, there was a rush for conversion to Islam. The two years of peace that followed the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah brought over a very large number of disbelievers to Islam. They could not have joined Islam in such large numbers if they had not been believers in their hearts, having been held back only by fear of persecution. There are even cases on record of men accepting Islam in the thick of battle. Muslims did not at first spare such men, thinking that they had done so merely to save their lives. The Holy Prophet, however, took such Muslims severely to the task, asking them if they had torn open the hearts of those people and had satisfied themselves that they were really devoid of sincerity. It is for this reason that the Quran directs Muslims not to harm such men from among the idolaters as profess their faith in Islam and observe the commandments of God, for only God knows whether they are true Muslims or not.

"Merciful" at the end of the verse shows that the conduct of idolaters had been such as to make them deserving of the severest of punishment, and that to extend forgiveness to them even on their abandonment of idolatry was really an act of mercy.

2:229.

Commentary:

The words "if you are in doubt" have been added because the stoppage of monthly course may be due to some disorder in the womb or to some other cause, though menopause may not yet have arrived.